Do not adjust your watches, it's not Friday yet. In fact tomorrow is Good Friday, hence this Weekly Update being with you 24 hours early this week.
I won't take up too much of your time today, because hopefully you'll be gearing up in your dealerships for a busy Easter period. Traditionally it was said that this weekend was the real start of the garden machinery dealer's season. If it was warm and sunny, people would be getting their mowers out of the shed for the first time since the winter - and discovering they either needed it fixed or required a new one.
Hence the Easter weekend was perceived as a real barometer, or at least a kick-start, for the season ahead.
However, the past couple of years, including this one, cannot exactly be described as 'traditional'. Far from it. Lockdowns, distanced trading and an ongoing stocking crisis has meant that we've been in a weird, parallel world. Everything has looked sort of familiar, but it's most definitely off!
So who knows how normal an Easter weekend this will be for our readers? Are you expecting more of a regular one than the past couple of years? Or has the fact that supply is so unreliable put paid to that? Do let us know in the comments below.
Some mower good news
In fact due to there being so much doom and gloom in the news lately, I was looking around trying to find some straws to clutch at, as something encouraging I could pass on ahead of the bank holidays - but the best I could do is as follows . . .
You know how in recent times when there's been a story about lawnmowing in the mainstream press, it's predominately about how mowing is bad for the environment and how homeowners and councils should just let it grow (No Mow May is coming up again soon for example). Whenever I see one of those, I always think it's not the most cheering for a good proportion of our readers, whose livelihoods are based around the cultivation of grass.
Well this week I saw someone who describes themselves as one of the UK’s "leading experts on lawns and grass care" refute these claims and in fact encourage gardeners to continue mowing to help the environment.
Richard Salmon, who admittedly as the founder of ProLawnCareUK has a vested interest in keeping lawns maintained, is adamant that simply adjusting the mower and using it more frequently is good for both nature and the grass.
In a statement to the press, Richard said, "We have 20 million plus domestic lawns in the UK. The vast majority are in inner city and urban areas where they are a vital green lung. Anything we can do to keep them healthy is good for nature and humans, and regular mowing is key to this."
He continued, “Weekly mowing encourages the grass to tiller or thicken out. This produces a greater green leaf area per m2 which, in turn, absorbs more Co2 during photosynthesis, keeping lawns green and releasing more oxygen to atmosphere. The more dense the lawn the better for all food sources."
Richard also said that leaving lots of uncut grass means it discolours, significantly reducing photosynthesis which, in turn, results in less oxygen being produced. He also stressed how it is, " . .extremely untidy and requires more power to mow at the end of the season, and takes several weeks of cutting before the lawn returns to the verdant carpet it was prior to the no-mow regime.”
So there you go. A great counter argument to those who choose to decry the process of lawnmowing.
Whether it helps you sell machinery you haven't got, probably not?! But regardless, have a happy and prosperous Easter weekend!
We'll see you next week, back in the regular Friday slot.
